.. _gettingstarted/beginners:

======================
 Advice for Beginners 
======================

Congratulations on choosing Shinken! Shinken is quite powerful and flexible, but it can take a bit of work to get it configured just the way you'd like. Once you become familiar with how it works and what it can do for you, you'll never want to be without it :-) Here are some important things to keep in mind for first-time Shinken users:

  * **Relax - it takes some time.** Don't expect to be able to get things working exactly the way you want them right off the bat. Setting up Shinken can involve a bit of work - partly because of the options that Shinken offers, partly because you need to know what to monitor on your network (and how best to do it).
  * **Use the quickstart instructions.** The :ref:`Quickstart installation guide <gettingstarted/quickstart>` is designed to get most new users up and running with a basic Shinken setup fairly quickly. Within 10 minutes you can have Shinken installed and monitoring your local system. Once that's complete, you can move on to learning how to configure Shinken to do more.
  * **Get familiar with the Getting Started section.** Shinken has a :ref:`getting started <gettingstarted/index>` documentation section, that is easier to read through for common undertakings and to understand how Shinken works. It can be simpler to follow than the exhaustive official documentation.
  * **Read the documentation.** Shinken can be tricky to configure when you've got a good grasp of what's going on, and nearly impossible if you don't. Make sure you read the documentation (particularly the sections on :ref:`Configuring Shinken <configuration/index>` and :ref:`The Basics <thebasics/index>`). Save the advanced topics for when you've got a good understanding of the basics.
  * **Seek the help of others.** If you've read the documentation, reviewed the sample config files, and are still having problems, go through the :ref:`Shinken user resources <contributing/index>` to learn how you can get help and contribute back to the project.

